EVERGLADES, Fla. -- We’re seeing incredible photos of what’s being called the largest predator-to-prey size ratio involving a Burmese python. The python ate a white-tailed deer that weighed more than the snake itself.
WARNING: Video above has graphic images
The photos are from April of 2015, but just released Thursday by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Biologists and land managers noticed the 11-foot female Burmese python in Collier-Seminole State Park with a big bulge.
They captured it and moved it to an open area, where the snake began to regurgitate the young white-tailed deer.
When they were both measured, the team noticed the fawn weighed around 35 pounds, which was heavier than the python, which was 31.5 pounds.
Researchers say Burmese pythons are responsible for a 90 percent decline in small mammal populations in the eastern Everglades.
WARNING: Photos under this story are graphic
“Our research and removal efforts are driven by what the science shows us,” said Conservancy of Southwest Florida President and CEO Rob Moher. “We are learning valuable information that is helping us push back against this invasive species that is significantly and negatively impacting our native wildlife.”
Through learning about their eating habits, the conservancy can help control the population of the invasive species.
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